REUTERS SUMMIT-WHO

Budget cuts worry bird flu watchers

(For other news from Reuters Health Summit, click on http://www.reuters.com/summit/Health13)

* CDC head concerned at WHO ability to respond effectively

* Swiss-based U.N. agency hit by Swiss franc strength

* WHO official says work being done but donor support vital

By Ben Hirschler

NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization'sability to police the new strain of bird flu that has killed 27people in China is being jeopardized by budget cuts, accordingto a top U.S. official.

"One of the things that, frankly, concerns us is the abilityof WHO to respond effectively," Dr. Thomas Frieden, director ofthe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told theReuters Health Summit in New York on Monday.

Frieden said he planned to raise the issue with othercountries at the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting, which isbeing held in Geneva, where the U.N. agency has itsheadquarters, from May 20 to May 28.

Many scientific questions still have to be answered aboutthe new flu strain, known as H7N9, which first caused patientsto sicken in China in February having been previously unknown inhumans.

So far, researchers have established it is being transmittedto people from birds - probably mostly chickens. There is noevidence of it spreading from person to person.

The WHO plays a central role in coordinating the globalresponse to such emerging disease threats, but it is strugglingin the face of budget cuts that were forced on it two years ago,partly as a result of a strong appreciation in the Swiss franc.

"They had trouble sending a team to China for H7 becausethey didn't have enough money to travel," Frieden said. "Theyare managing and we will help them manage - and will send staffthere as needed - but the world needs them to be effective."

Taiwan reported its first case of H7N9 on April 24 andhealth experts say it is critical to monitor closely the newstrain's potential to spread in neighbouring countries. Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general forhealth security, said the organization was carrying out the workthat needed to be done but the operation, involving more than 50staff, was "very expensive".

"We need the gas tank to be full if the car is going tomove. We've already been working with donors in terms ofresponse and funds for support," he said in a telephoneinterview in Geneva.

There will be a side event on H7N9 during the WHA meeting onMay 21 where both Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, andhe will speak, along with the Chinese health minister, Fukudaadded.

It receives the bulk of its funding in dollars, leaving itexposed to currency fluctuations. It was forced in 2011 to cut300 jobs in Switzerland - or one in eight - because of thestrength of the Swiss franc and financial problems in some donorcountries.

"They've had to lay off hundreds of staff in Geneva and inother parts of the world, including in areas that are quiterelevant to flu response," Frieden said.